Miracles – Philosophy

Philosophy- â€Å"A belief in miracles leads to the concept of a god who favors some but not all his creation† The problem with miracles is that it cannot be properly defined which means there is no absolute meaning for a meaning, instead my philosophers have attempted to define miracles in their own way. In these definition they are usually for or against the existence of miracles, for example take two contrasting definitions Ward and Hume. Ward says miracles are events which god intervenes because he only knows the consequences of the action.On the other hand, Hume is a philosopher who is totally against the idea of miracles, he says miracles do not exist because they violate the laws of nature. Knowing this, god cannot intervene because he would violate the laws of nature, humans have faith in experience and trust the laws this would be lost if miracles were deemed true. Another philosopher would had a problem with miracles was a man called Wiles. He basically said, to say god carries out these miraculous events is to say god is guilty of obituary and partisan.Any event where the natural flow is violated for a certain people raises the issue of fairness and consistency. Wiles also said the two idea of having an all loving god and the existence of miracles are two incompatible ideas so its easier to believe that god is all loving and reject the idea of miracles. If this was in reverse and miracles existed and god could intervene then why didn't he intervene is horrific events such as Auschwitz or Hiroshima instead he saves one persons life, this seems unfair and a contradiction of an all loving god.As for biblical miracles Wiles said we must take them in a symbolic sense rather than a literal sense. A strength of Wiles it that allows educated believers to keep faith with god and uphold their faith in natural laws. Many people agreed with what Wiles was saying for example a man called Bultman agreed that the miracles explained in the bible are not there to take literal, he says we get the true message behind the miracle if we demythologize them.For example he turned water into wine to prevent the embarrassment of the hosts which shows his care and wisdom. To believe that god favors some more than others through the existence of miracles is wrong, who says its god that these events originates? We have no evidence to suggest this, just because we cannot find this would doesn't mean we have to point it to god. Holland was another philosopher who didn't believe in the concept of miracles, well the name miracle he thought that they were more of a coincidence.He used the analogy of the train, what is some one was stuck on the track and the train had stopped right in front of the person, some people may call this a miracle but when we know the full picture someone in the train may have accidentally pressed the emergency stop or the driver could have passed out. So the concept of the whole miracles thing may just be one big coincidence. L ooking at Holland’s view it would make god innocent of being arbitrary and partisan, this is because these events are just coincidences it has nothing to do with god.As mentioned earlier, Hume was a man who rejected the idea of miracles due to being a violation of the laws of nature. Hume believes strongly in experiences and what we gain from them, as for this situation, the laws are something we have learnt about and follow. So when something happens that goes against these we deem them coming from god because we cannot define or justify them. All in all, Hume says the alert of miracles comes from the ignorant and barbarous nations. Knowing this, God would also be innocent because it is not god who intervenes so its not him which favors some and not others.There are events that are unexplained so they must come from some where, lets say for arguments sake tat they come from god. Us as humans are not on his level therefore we cannot say or he is this or that, he may have a re ason and we would find out when we die. All the events that are unexplained may paint a bigger picture but humans are outside of god knowledge and experience so we cannot really judge god. Irenaous was a philosopher who looked at the problem of evil, he would say god is being cruel to be kind and making humans into the image of god, this because events like miracles change people.To develop these emotions naturally have more significance than being drilled in at birth by god. Overall, I conclude that God does not favor some people over others. My reasons for this is because we cannot define miracle we can only speculate on what we think, for this reason how can we act upon such uncertainty? Also we cannot judge god because we have no knowledge of him or what he has planned, only him and him only knows the repercussions of his actions.

Benjamin Franklin: from an Apprentice to a Founding Father

As one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was a key figure in shaping the history of America. But even more so, he was a highly individualistic character, and showed a truly dynamic personality when compared to the early leaders of American history. His unique personality has been admired by those throughout history for his pragmatism, his soothing nature and ability to act as a mediator with others. He was known for his leadership skills, and respected as a writer, visionary, philosopher and inventor.Benjamin Franklin is still relevant today from students learning about his science experiments to the printing and technical industries benefiting from his inventions. Probably the most impressive quality about Franklin is the fact that he appealed to the everyday working class people. Born in Boston in 1706 to Abiah and Josiah Franklin, his father was a chandler and soap maker from England (Benjamin Franklin In Search of a Better World, 2005). Early on the young Ben Franklin was intrigued by reading and writing.One of his first inspirations was The Spectator essay written by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison. Franklin was impressed with the authors’ passages about the vanities and values of contemporary life. He read the essays as a learning experience. After reading the pages he then re-wrote the text in his own words and evaluated what he could correct and then enhance—eventually creating his own unique, writing style. In addition to the essays of the day, he also immersed himself in the books that he borrowed from friends who worked for local book masters.In 1721 his brother James started the New England Courant, and the 16-year-old Benjamin wrote articles for it under an assumed name. Knowing his brother would not let him write for the paper, he found another way to get his writings in print. He wrote letters and signed them via a pseudonym of a made up widow dubbed: Silence Dogood. His musings were filled with the p light facing women and an analysis of the current landscape of the time period. All in all, readers loved the letters and clamored to find out more about the infamous scribe.Eventually the young writer confessed that he created the Dogood tales. Discovering this led to touchy altercation among the brothers; James said the compliments paid to Benjamin’s writing made him â€Å"vain. † The relationship between Benjamin and his older brother would lay the groundwork for his future philosophies and work ethic. As he revealed in his autobiography: â€Å"I fancy his harsh and tyrannical treatment of me might be a means of impressing me with that aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to me through my whole life.(The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, p. 20). This approach would later show up in Franklin’s dealings as a printer and in competing with other newspapermen of the day, as well as in his political dealings and his â€Å"man of the people† stance o n issues. Benjamin Franklin bought out a competitor’s newspaper called, the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. Combining his many skills, Franklin wrote for the paper as well as printed the periodical. The Gazette was Franklin’s bread and butter for his printing service.To enhance the content, he focused on more up-to-date content and improved the quality of the writing and added a dose of wit and spirited prose. This newspaper saw much success within the area and in filled it more and more with political writings (In Search of a Better World, 2005). For example, Franklin created and published the first political cartoon in the paper. The Gazette was unique in that it had an open-press policy and â€Å"He was scrupulously evenhanded in his coverage of politics†¦. his open-press policy

Vietnam War and the Media

Write an essay that offers a critical examination of the concept of the ‘guilty media’ thesis in respect of any war of your choice Natasa Perdiou The Vietnam War was the first war that allowed uncensored media coverage resulting in images and accounts of horrific events that served to shape public opinion of the war like nothing that had been seen before. This portrayal by the media led to a separation between the press and the U. S. government, as much of what was reported defied the intentions of government policy.The media has fell blame by many for the result of the war, as it is widely believed that the war could not have been won under the scrutiny that came from the American people as a result of the media coverage. From the beginning of the Vietnam War to the present, the media has been an immeasurable factor in the perception of the war as the stories, true or false, that were reported gave the American people a face to an ugly war. The question over how much, i f any, the media had affected the outcome of the war has been an unrelenting one and is likely to continue for a long time to come.But one fact that cannot be doubted is that the dreadfulness of war entered the living rooms of Americans for the first time during the Vietnam War. For nearly a decade the American public could watch villages being destroyed, Vietnamese children burning to death, and American body bags being sent home. Although early coverage mainly supported U. S involvement in the war, television news dramatically changed its frame of the war after the Tet Offensive. Images of the U. S led massacre at My Lai dominated the television, yet the daily atrocities committed by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong rarely made the evening news.Moreover, the anti-war movement at home gained increasing media attention while the U. S soldier was forgotten in Vietnam. There was a stable build up of US military support activity in Vietnam during the period 1954 to 1965, but the first c ombat troops did not emerge until March 1965. During this period, media attention in the war was slow in building up, the first resident TV correspondent, NBC’s Garrick Utley, only arriving in late 1964. The media did build up and as the war became progressively more aggressive, journalists were sent out in increasing numbers.It would be fair to say that reporting of Vietnam increased approximately in proportion to the military presence. Prior to the involvement of ground troops in Vietnam, media coverage was concentrated to the political dimension of the war of stabilizing a non-communist regime in South Vietnam. The media at this time was committed to reporting news that reflected the common anti-communist stance, which was so † powerful in the early 60's that as long as the Vietnam War remained small, the administration had little trouble with the press† (Hallin 28). [4]By 1965 media coverage of Vietnam increased as the U. S. was becoming more part of an aggres sive war. Reporting began to shift from the intention of eradication the world of communism to the frustration of the men in the field. After the heavy use of ground troops, a shift in coverage occurred that â€Å"put much of the attention on the military situation† of the war. (Wyatt 133). [9] An increasing number of reports began to emerge about a lack of incentive and motivation on the part of the South Vietnamese troops. This brought to question the whole role of American interference, as the U.S. was proposed to support the South Vietnamese in their effort against the North, not the other way around. 1965 did not only mark the increase of ground troops into Vietnam, it also brought the emergence of television into the realm of media coverage, while the government was trying to maintain the idea that that the U. S was making encouraging progress, that the Vietnam War was necessary and that victory was not inevitable. While a small percentage of coverage was dedicated to w arfare and death, what was seen was not forgotten by the American people.The famous General William Westmoreland states that â€Å"[the coverage was] almost exclusively violent, miserable or controversial; guns firing, men falling, helicopters crashing, buildings toppling, huts burning, refugees fleeing, women wailing. A shot of a single building in ruins could give the impression of an entire town destroyed. † [7] So, in spite of continuous reports of victory, the public had a hard time coming to grips with what they saw their troops involved in Vietnam. Such coverage, along with the vivid images that emerge on T. V. ed to a serious rise in anti-war protest that was merely strengthened by the events of 1968. The Tet Offensive of 1968 marked the greatest conflict in beliefs of the United Stated government and the media. In January, North Vietnamese troops attacked the North cities of South Vietnam and the U. S. embassy in Saigon. The media and the television, however, portray ed the attack as a brutal defeat for the U. S, totally altering the outcome of the war at the very moment when government officials were publicly stating that victory in Vietnam was â€Å"just around the corner† (Wyatt 167)[8].The media covered all the events that immediately followed the Tet Offensive and the American public began wondering whether this war could be won. Don Oberdorfer a Washington reporter said that â€Å"there’s no doubt Tet was one of the biggest events in contemporary American history, within two months the, American body politically turned around on the war. And they were significantly influenced by events they saw on television†. [2] The Tet offensive was not totally unpredicted by the US military.In reality, the final result was a success, in military terms, for the US as the Vietnamese did undergo serious casualties and were driven back. However, the America media were not expectant of the attack and assumed that the military did not ei ther. Seeing the US embassy being undertaken by the Vietnamese presented the event as a defeat, ‘television fell prey to its chronic lust for drama. ’[1] After the Tet offensive the media began to attack the American involvement in Vietnam.It became clear to the American public that there was no clear way to win the war. Also, in reaction to public mood the media started sending damaging reports from the frontlines; they suggested that American troops lacked the specific training for the terrain and the type of warfare they were subjected to. They also gave the idea to people that the new rebellious generation and the great pressures of the war meant that many soldiers were drug abusers and carrying out atrocities. The media concentrated on civilian casualties and incidents such as the one in My Lai,These images on people’s televisions, left people in outrage, many had lost faith in the war and saw no military plan capable of wining such a war. They were outraged by their country’s conduct in the war and were set into a moral panic, seeing brutal scenes of civilian casualties committed by their own troops. The war was now seen as a shameful one and the government was seen to be at fault, forcing many young men to their death or to commit the atrocities they saw on their TV screens.The former Vietnam correspondent Robert Elegant of the Los Angeles times said that â€Å"for the first time in modern history the outcome of a war is seemed destined to be determined not on the battlefield but on the printed page and, above all, on the television screen† [3] The reporting of the actual war was deteriorating, just at the moment when the American military advisers hoped to push for victory. The North Vietnamese causalities following the Tet offensive had left them vulnerable and it was expected that an immediate attack to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail would permit the US troops the chance for total success.The news, though, was almost tota lly concentrating on the rising anti-war division in the US and stories of low morale and indiscipline among the US troops. The media were responsible for the American withdrawal from Vietnam because of the poor quality of reporting which lacked in validity in its facts about events and incidents in the war. It seems with all these misreports or blatant lies, which was meant to purposely damage the image of the American fighting forces in Vietnam public opinion of the war was very low in America. However the question is to what extent, if any, did this coverage change the outcome of the war?It would be reasonable to suggest that the Tet offensive was the most significant incident in shaping the outcome of the war. The media certainly reported the assault in the most inaccurate way for the US army. Activist young journalists, who had not in the past witness any real fighting were all of a sudden bounded by fighting supposed that the North Vietnamese had won a great victory. The US go vernment and army were to a degree guilty since they were aware the assault was going to happen and did not inform the media for reasons of national security.There was a succeeding recovery by the Americans and the media did not report this. Moreover, fragile leadership, mainly from Lyndon Johnson, did not motivate confidence in the war effort. Evidence does also indicate that there was no absolute public support for the war, even earlier than the negative coverage by media began. The reasons for the war, to ceased the spreading of communism (the Domino Theory), were not clearly demonstrated and maintained. Some Americans began to realise that the Communist threat was used as a scapegoat to hide imperialistic intentions.After the media’s massive blunder of reporting the Tet offensive as a major psychological defeat, and not having the sophistication, integrity or courage to admit their error opposition to war rose sharply. These innumerable domestic divisions gave the chance to high ranking members of Johnson’s administration to begin expressing their disapproval of Johnson’s actions to the media. This put pressure on government into engaging in to a more defensive military strategy that may have altered the likelihood of victory for the US.President Johnson was under fire from anti-war ‘doves’ and submitted to both ceasing the bombing of North Vietnam and beginning the Paris Peace talks. As expected, he also announced his decision not to stand for re-election. To make things worse, the war cost two-thousand-million dollars every month. The price of many goods in the United States began to rise. The value of the dollar began to drop. The result was inflation. Then economic activity slowed, and the result was recession. Opposition to the war and to the Administration's war policies led to bigger and bigger anti-war demonstrations. Johnson’s successor, Richard Nixon, in an effort to gain the public support back announced a plan of ‘Vietnamization’ of the war. This involved swapping US troops with more South Vietnamese troops, trained and armed by the US, after the first US troop withdrawals from Vietnam started in June 1969. Unluckily for Nixon, this did not discourage the anti-war protest who demonstrated in record numbers (250,000) in Washington in November 1969. [10] Images in television in every living room in America were showing the true dreadfulness of war for the first time.Reports of military failure (especially Tet) and slaughter such as the My Lai event shaped an air of scepticism. The media at home were also reporting the rising number and intensity of anti-war protest, legitimising opposition to war. A thing television was guilty of was only placing emphasis on the US troops. The stories that made the news were always about US troops in combat, US troops doing civil action, sometimes US troops in trouble (desertion, drugs, fragging). The allies, whose losses (280,000 South Vietnamese dead) far exceeded those of American troops, were invisible to the American crews.This gave the American public the feeling that the war was being waged mostly by the Americans and it was probably this, more than the almost exclusively violent coverage which gave the public a sense of disillusionment and war weariness. Additionally, media coverage of the war in Vietnam shook the faith of citizens at home. The media was the catalyst, which promoted the rising American anti-war movement. They were to a great degree accountable for the American troops’ withdrawal from Vietnam because of its poor quality of reporting which lacked in accuracy about the facts and events of the war.It is obvious that this kind of misinformation seriously destroyed both the image and the morale of the American soldier in Vietnam. There’s no wonder public opinion of the war was very low in America. But the truth is that the media only sunk a slowly sinking politically based ship, as public opinion of the war was already falling. The public were already starting to see through the government’s political talk that they had no definite military plan for victory or a justifiable reason to fight against a nation of infantrymen.The American media just dramatised the events to entirely destroy the very political principles which started the war. The media caused such a moral alarm in America at the time, people lost trust in its own government. The media left t America in such a chaos that its own government had to surrender to public opinion. So to what extend are the media guilty for the loss of the war? The media played a key role in American withdrawal from Vietnam. It might as well be proper to suggest that with American support for the war, America forces effort into the war may have been better and the outcome of the war may have been different.Nevertheless, the chief reality is that the America forces in Vietnam had no apparent military strategy to be s uccessful in its political mean. So consequently the media can not be solely guilty for the American withdrawal. Yet, the question is, would have American forces been withdraw from Vietnam with no media negative reporting of the war? The answer is that we will never know for sure. But we can undoubtedly say that Americans’ support for the war would have mostly remained high all over the war, the pressure on the American troops and government wouldn’t have appeared.Without all of the these factors the American troops may have had the time to adjust to the style of warfare and topography and resolve the behavioural and discipline troubles they were facing which highly attracted the media attention. This could mean that America would have continued the war in Vietnam, which may, but not definitely would have created a different outcome. Despite this, you still can’t say that the media is totally responsible for the withdrawal of American fighting forces in Vietnam. It was the longest war in American history which resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths.The financial cost to the United States was just as deep. Even today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in Vietnam was a sin, a blunder, a necessary war, or a noble cause, or an idealistic, if failed, effort to protect the South Vietnamese from totalitarian government. Nicholas Hopkinson’s statement is the one that probably best reflects the situation of the media in Vietnam: As public enthusiasm faded, reporting became more and more critical[†¦] but to single the media out as the decisive element in declining public opinion is incorrect.US opinion turned against the war because it was long unsuccessful, costly in terms of human life and expenditure. ’[6] Words: 2314 References Bibliography: 1. Braestrup, Peter. â€Å"The News Media and the War in Vietnam: Myths and Realities† 2. Don Oberdorfer, Tet! , S eptember 1, 1971 3. Elegant, Robert, ‘How to Lose a War', Encounter, 57, 2 (1981), 73 89 4. Hallin, Daniel C. , The Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam. Los Angles: California University of California Press, 1986. 5. George Herring, America's Longest War: The United States in Vietnam, 1950-1975 (1986) . Nicholas Hopkinson, â€Å"War and the media’’ Wilton Paper 55 (London: HMSO, 1992): 6-7 7. Westmoreland, William C. A Soldier Reports (Garden City, N. Y. , Doubleday, 1976) 8. William M. Hammond, Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1962-1968 (1989) and Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1968-1973 (1996). 9. Wyatt, Clarence R. Paper Soldiers: The American Press and the Vietnam War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Internet sources : 10. www. nytimes. com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1115. html

Forensics project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Forensics project - Essay Example Other applications entail investigating whether there was a breach of network within an organization. In the technical aspects of the investigation, digital forensics has several sub-branches that relate to the digital devices that have been in use. They include the network forensics, mobile data computer, and forensics data analysis (Oriyano & Gregg, 2011). Apart from the provision of direct evidence relating to digital crimes, digital forensics has vast applications in authenticating documents, confirmation of alibis, identification, and determining the intent of the breach in the information. To sum it, all digital forensics entails the preservation, extraction, and analysis of the evidence relating to digital content for appropriate legal actions. The field concerns with apprehending criminals who use digital technology in committing crimes. Some of the crimes committed through digital technology include hacking of emails to retrieve important information, retrieving information from the government agencies and institutions in an illegal manner for personalized use or terrorism (Oriyano & Gregg, 2011). Gone are the days when criminals used excessive force to get what they want. They have shifted to the use of technology in wiring money to their accounts especially from banking institutions without the use of force. Digital forensics is of relevance to these cases and helps in averting such crimes (Marcella & Guillossou, 2012). In this project, Digital Forensic Evidence Files will be investigated using the Forensic Toolkit that is available within the Lab. The evidence files have been collected from the suspect’s computer. The files for investigation are true images retrieved from the hard drive of the computer (Marcella & Guillossou, 2012). Three files are available for investigation namely, Thumb drive. E01, Mantooth.E0, and Washer.E01. The files under

THE CASE OF LinkedIn Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

THE OF LinkedIn - Case Study Example LinkedIn marketing team needs to conduct market research in the GCC region, especially the culture of the Muslim community. The operations of LinkedIn Company are all about interactions and exchange of ideas. If the market research can identify the specific culture of cooperation in the GCC region, then the company can increase the membership base (Rodrigues, Maccari & Lenzi, 2012). Furthermore, identifying the different groups of potential members such as the CEOs, the business people, the young professionals and many others, may help expand the membership volume. Additionally, the company should adopt a social media platform costumed to the language and lifestyle characteristics of the Asian, especially the Muslim community. Nevertheless, the company will incorporate some of the giant companies in the GCC region in the management team to lure the members from the GCC. The strategy of increasing the membership in the GCC region may not be the same as the ones used in Europe because the two regions have different national cultures. For example, the European market may view LinkedIn connection agenda as healthy, and many people in the area would be willing to participate. On the other hand, GCC region is a reserved culture, which views the interaction as intrusion into their culture and way of life. Therefore, Europe would need a little convincing since they would readily accept. Porter’s five forces analyzes the competitive environment for business firms. The LinkedIn is a professional networking company whose operations depend on the massive wave of social media interaction currently sweeping the globe. The first Porter model force is existing rivalry among competitors. The LinkedIn is facing competition from Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. However, the level of this force is not high on LinkedIn because most of its competitors are more social

Security Risk Analysis for Intrusion Detection and Prevention of Essay

Security Risk Analysis for Intrusion Detection and Prevention of Cybercrime - Essay Example Data and alert correlation in the military network and the future of intrusion detection and prevention methods are touched upon. The paper recommends appropriate procedures to control the threats and reduce the vulnerability of the system to lower the level and make them acceptable keeping in mind the military network and the sensitivity of data protection in this case. Top five risks are analyzed and briefly reviewed. Current federal legislation and the standards based on securing and preventing cybercrime will be analyzed. Steps will be recommended to implement and maintain the strategy proposed. Risk analysis terms Security risk analysis also referred called risk assessment, is a basic requirement of any organization. Essentially, controls and expenditures are largely commensurate with the risks to that an organization posses. Many conventional means for conducting a security risk analysis are turning out to be more indefensible in terms of criticality, flexibility and usability. Qualitative Risk Analysis It is the most pervasively used approach to security risk analysis. No probability data is required and only estimates of potential loss are used. Elements of qualitative risk analysis: Vulnerabilities – These are factors that make a system prone to attack or make an intrusion more likely to succeed or have an impact. For example, flammable material. Threats – What could go wrong or something/ situations that can attack the information system. For instance, fraud or fire. Controls – The countermeasures put up by management for vulnerabilities. They include preventive control, detective controls, deterrent controls etc. Security Risk Analysis for Intrusion Detection and Prevention of Cybercrime The satellite communication systems form the backbone of net centric warfare for the US Military and give it considerable advantage over others. The close integration of the communication system and its distribution to local level commanders puts this system far ahead of other armies as by (Bufkin 2011) â€Å"This is unique feature of this system – no other department of defense satellite system can relay information from the satellite all the way down to war fighters, portable communications packs and handheld radios†. The system, however, like any other is not perfect and present some vulnerabilities in its operation. The modern communication systems have evolved and are far more secure than their predecessors. The interception methods have evolved along with these advancements and therefore security and threats are circling in an infinite loop. Both are constantly evolving. Contrary to popular opinion, cybercrime is a risk to all industries including military networks. If intrusion detection methods are not effective, cybercrimes results in security breaches long before the victims become aware that the systems are compromised. In case of military networks, the stakes are very high as the data includes sens itive information that may even include strategic plans, communication infrastructure details and even present situation reports. Any of these if intercepted can jeopardize complete communication network and leave military in a blackout. As per Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division in 2008 â€Å"

Compare&contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compare&contrast - Essay Example Though I love writing, yet I used to feel handicapped where expression, translating and grammar were concerned. However, I did not lose heart but tried my best to keep up with it, by widening my vocabulary and clearing major doubts with my professors who were so encouraging. Gradually, as time went by I found that there was positive improvement both in my speech as well as writing abilities. When comparing the two languages, I came across many major contrasts between them and this is the reason why a Chinese person speaks English in a different manner. One such contrast between the two is the use of verb endings such as ‘ed’ or ‘ing’ which is not found in the Chinese language and this makes it difficult to use a sentence with the correct tense. Another major contrast I found was the use of articles like ‘the’ and ‘a’ especially when used in front of a noun. For example, an English speaking person would say – ‘The mango is good’ while a Chinese person would say – ‘Mango is good’. Another challenging aspect when comparing both languages is the use of ‘s’ for plurals in English. This is not the case in Chinese because they convey number based on the context of their sentences. There are also major contrasts where pronunciation and sounds are concerned. The sounds in the Chinese language do not exist in the English language and vice versa. These and many other contrasts really pose very challenging to international students but as we make ourselves more familiar with the language it becomes much easier. In the beginning, it seemed a hard task to write with good expression and not make mistakes but Professor Waluconis has been so patient and encouraging and I feel satisfied that I learned a lot from his classes. I have learned how to organize my thoughts and write a thesis statement which brings out the main ideas in a piece of writing. My speaking and writing abilities

Human Resource Management in an Organization Essay

Human Resource Management in an Organization - Essay Example As such, the organization most of the time decides to outsource these services from other organizations which can offer the service(s) required more efficiently. Other organizations outsource so seriously that they end up co-opting the organization as part of itself thereby creating what is generally termed as the virtual network structure. This paper seeks to highlight the concept of co-opting, outsourcing and virtual network structure. It also explains why virtual network structure is a good structural alternative for some firms and by using one organization as an example, the benefits and limitations of the virtual network structure are evaluated. Outsourcing refers to the transfer of some organizational functions to an external service provider. This kind of arrangement is contractual and it happens between the organization and the supplier of the services that the organization requires. Mostly, the supplier of services through the contract is able to use the means of production it already owns. These means of production may be in form of assets, equipment and personnel among others. For the entire period of the contract, the organization is able to procure the required services from the contracted service provider. It is important to note that outsourcing can be done for a number of services. These services include but are not limited to human resource, estate management, accounting, information technology and auditing among others. Other outsourced services also include customer care or service telemarketing, designing and/or manufacturing and market research among others. The decision to outsource is preceded by a number of cost considerations among other considerations. Usually, the organization has to decide whether to outsource a given service or organizational function or conduct it in-house. It is important to note that the decision to outsource is a strategic level decision and as such requires the approval of the board of directors. The process of outsourcing usually begins after the decision is made after which the organization analyzes the in-house as compared to the buying of the services in terms of cost, efficiency, effectiveness, performance, quality etc in a bid to justify the decision of outsourcing (Chopra & Meindl, 2007: pp123-127). The complexity of the outsourcing process calls for the use of outsourcing consultants or intermediaries who not only help with the scoping but also with the legal terms and conditions, pricing and evaluating the vendors offering the required service(s). Outsourcing has been around for some time now and is as old as specialization itself but in the recent years most companies have embraced outsourcing so as to handle most narrow functions e.g. data entry billing and payroll among other organizational functions. Outsourcing of these functions is done because the contracted organizations can perform the functions more efficiently than when the functions could have been done in-house. Outsourcing of these functions is more often than not more cost effective than the opposite of it because the contracted companies have all the facilities, assets, specially trained human resource and special tools for the functions they have been contracted to carry out. Most of the times outsourcing is sought, it ends up being a success albeit this is not always the case. The success is

Abortion of Fetus with Down Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abortion of Fetus with Down Syndrome - Essay Example For instance, these proponents have argued that for a fetus with Down syndrome, it is permissible to carry out abortion. Down syndrome (DS) is a health condition in which superfluous genetic material leads to delays in the mental and physical development. This paper holds that it is morally permissible to abort a fetus with Down syndrome due to various reasons. Apparently, aborting this fetus will save it future pain and suffering once born. In addition, the fetus lacks capacity for making its own decision and does not have the capacity to desire for the continuation of its existence. Moreover, the fetus lacks more developed person-like features and it lacks fully developed rights to life (Warren, 2004). Moral issues surrounding abortion. The issue of terminal conditions and abortion accrues from the idea of active euthanasia. Marquis (1989) indicates that the overall issue of killing a person who is terminally ill to save him or her from pain is sometimes not justifiable. This accrues from the premise that death is more painful that all other forms of physical pain. On the other hand, he claims that it is not generally wrong to kill the person who would die anyway. Under this premise, it is then not morally wrong to abort or terminate a fetus suffering from a terminal condition such as Down syndrome. This raises the proposition that aborting might be illegal but considering the moral responsibility concerning terminal conditions, it becomes morally justifiable. ... He adds that the parents of these children undergoes through hard financial strains while trying to provide adequate treatment to them. It is under this notion that it becomes morally permissible to abort a fetus that will probably bring about these problems once born. This premise asserts that it is not morally wrong to terminate a life that would otherwise go through pain and bring strain. He adds that there is a difference between terminally ill adult individuals and a fetus with a severe condition. This is in the sense that the adult individual can make a decision for himself or herself while the fetus does tot have the capacity to make its own decision. This therefore supports the claim that it is vital to make the decision on behalf of the fetus, thus becoming morally acceptable to abort it. On the other hand, Marquis (1989) indicates that some opponents of this issue would claim that it is not right to kill a terminally ill person due to his or her future value. Under this pre mise, the opponents would argue that this should be the same in the case of a fetus with Down syndrome. However, this assertion fails in the sense that a fetus is not fully ripe to realize its value in the future. Though there might be some innate value in the baby, there is no justification that it would add value in the future. This premise rests entirely in the public opinion but not in the reality of the issue. Another strong view in proposing the issue of aborting a 16 week- fetus with Down syndrome rests in the incompleteness of the person-like feature of the fetus. It is very evident that even though opponents of abortion argue that the fetus is a human being, it lacks unquestionable features to make it person-like. For instance, Warren (2004)

Role of Elders in the Asian Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of Elders in the Asian Culture - Essay Example Families, communities, societies, and nations have been promoted by the elderly people during their lives. More importantly, children are educated, cared, and nurtured by the parents and elders in the Asian culture. Therefore, parents deserve comfort, love, and respect throughout their lives from their youngsters and children. In other words, caring and respecting elders and parents is the moral and ethical obligation of children in the Asian region. In this regard, it is the responsibility of elders to take care of their youngsters, love them, and keep guiding them throughout their lives. On the other hand, American or British culture allows the individuals to start making their own decisions in their adolescent age, which is very contrary with the norms and values of the Asian culture. For instance, teachers are often allowed to be strict with the young students in Asian schools, or elders often treat youngsters in a harsh way, which is very different, as compared with the American culture. (Blackkaby, 1998) In brief, role that is played by old people is affected significantly by the cultural differences, as role and respect changes to a higher extent in different cultures. (Huntington, 2000) In East-Asian culture, a notable tradition is specifically practiced in this region, which is referred as filial piety. China, Japan, and Korea are some of the cultures that have the dominated practice of such practice. Care for the elderly is the most imperative and foremost obligation of this tradition. (Lee, 2004) Moreover, elderly people in these cultures play a guiding role to nurture their youngsters in an emotional, as well as, spiritual manner. In the Asian context, parents and elders must provide shelter, care, and assistance to the youngsters in emotional, as well as, financial manner, which is once again, contrary to the Western culture, which obligates

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Marketing Plan - Essay Example ignificance of the fast food industry and major factors forming and regulating the industry and the environment under which it experiences its slow but steady and unbroken growth. Location: Location and surroundings of a business place play the most pivotal part in the success or failure of a company. The location for the very first restaurant of this fast food brand is suggested to be selected beside the beautiful lake, seven miles away from the city, where this newly introduced fast food will be launched within few months. The main reason behind establishing this location for the restaurant includes the peaceful and serene atmosphere, which is particularly attractive and appealing to the families, friends, youngsters, lovers and children alike. Hence, the individuals belonging to every age and socioeconomic status will enjoy themselves to drive towards the restaurant offering multiple food and entertainment facilities under an ideal and healthy environment. Targeting & Segmentation of Customers: Since food industry is one of the fastest growing businesses of the contemporary era, targeting and segmentation of the clients and customers is the most imperative strategy for an entrepreneur. Since fast food is particularly appealing to every socioeconomic class as well as age-group, both young and old are the target customers for the restaurant. The restaurant will have to assure the hygiene of the product it offers to its customers, so that it can witness a constant growth for the future years to come. In addition, being a bit away from the commercial and residential areas of the city, the restaurant will have to assure the quality of its product along with presentation of it under a pleasant, eye-catching, jubilant and enjoyable atmosphere, so that the visitors cannot resist the charm it offers to them at their first visit. Nature of Food: The restaurant aims to offer egg rolls, burgers, pizza, fried chicken pieces, nuggets, French fries and other immediately

To what extent do you regard Essay Example for Free

To what extent do you regard Essay At first glance Audens poem the Shield of Achilles appears to be focused on the classical world. The poems classical nature is first indicated by the title- Achilles was of course a famous Greek hero, and throughout the poem there are further classical references, many of which Auden has taken from Book XVIII of Homers Iliad- Marble well-governed cities (l. 3), athletes at their games (l. 46), Hephaestos, hobbled away (l. 61). However, the poem also combines these classical details with the modern world- Proved by statistics (l. 17), Barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spot (l. 31). Although there is this unusual combination of classical and modern, the poem can be seen as timeless: Column by column in a cloud of dust They marched away enduring a belief Whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief. (The Shield of Achilles ll. 21-23) Here the army who are enduring a belief (l. 21) that they are doing good can be as easily applicable to the modern day (i. e. the situation in Iraq) as to classical times. The timeless nature of the poem can be said to be a characteristic feature as it appears in other poems such as Gare du Midi: clutching a little case. He walks out briskly to infect a city Whose terrible future may have just arrived. (Gare Du Midi, ll. 6-8) Here we are led to believe that a man is about to unleash a terrible weapon on a city and although the poem was written in December 1938, its proleptic nature allows the poem to be much more in tune with the worlds present fears1. The timelessness nature of Audens poems can perhaps be explained by his underlining of the cyclical nature of human history. Auden implies in The Shield Of Achilles that although the context of war may change through history, the content doesnt; war is frequently irrational: Where logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief. (The Shield of Achilles, l. 22) Audens use of occasional modern day diction (statistics, l. 17) allows us to realise that he is also referring to modern day situations. Thus Auden is also implying that humans dont ever learn form their mistakes; we continue to go to war. Auden also refers to this cyclical nature in September 1, 1939 Exiled Thucydides knew The habit-forming pain, Mismanagement and grief: We must suffer them all again (September 1, 1939, ll. 23-33) Here Auden is talking of the Athenian philosopher and historian Thucydides who is again underlining that human history will keep repeating because humans do not seem to learn from it: For the present stalk abroad Like the past and its wronged again Whimper and are ignored (A Walk After Dark, ll. 31-33) those who whimper continue to be ignored by those in power and so mistakes continue to be made. Similarly in The Shield Of Achilles, the strong iron-hearted man-slaying Achilles (ll. 65-6) is seen as a great hero in classical times because of his warrior status. However, in todays world the general perception of Achilles would be exceedingly different as violent, warrior-like attitudes to problems are increasingly condemned by todays society; the response to a well-aimed stone (l. 55) shouldnt be to throw a stone back. It is this kind of moral vacancy(l. 54) that leads warriors to wreak destruction upon society. Consequently it was historys mistake to celebrate warriors and Auden is implying that we shouldnt continue to idealise them because they are bearers of havoc and do not live long (l. 67), and equally dont allow others to live long either. The contrast between fantasy and reality is shown in The Shield of Achilles when Thetis, Achilles mother, looks into the shield: But there on the shining metal She saw by his flickering forge-light Quite another scene. (ll. 27-30) Thetis has fantasised about finding a pastoral idyll in the Shield, but what she actually discovers are scenes of horror- a weed-choked field (l. 52). Just as in Moon Landing, an occasional poem written to mark the landing of Apollo 11 in 1969, the moon itself has been idealised as an amazing, perfect place- worth going to see? I can well believe it (Moon Landing, l.21). The moon was very much something that many fantasized about visiting. But when the moon is actually seen on the television all the fantasies are shattered because it is no longer a mysterious, idyllic place- Worth seeing? Mneh! (Moon Landing, l. 22)- it has become besmirched by mans presence. It is clear from Audens poetry that he mistrusts idealistic dreams like those sought by Thetis, for example in Epitaph on a Tyrant, Auden criticises the ideal of perfection: Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after, And when he cried the little children died on the streets. (Epitaph on a Tyrant, ll. 1-6) The poem is referring to a dictator whose ideas of perfection, which cause children to die on the streets, are another mans nightmares, thus perfection should not always be strove for. Although like many of Audens poems The Shield Of Achilles is characteristic in certain features, it is perhaps impossible to outline a characteristic Auden poem. The Shield of Achilles lacks many features that would make it characteristic. For example, poems such as Moon Landing and a Walk After Dark are rife with colloquial (Mneh- Moon Landing, ll. 22) and recherchi (Lacrimae rerum- A Walk After Dark, l. 30) language, whereas The Shield of Achilles has none, instead the language in the poem obeys the poems principle of contrast- it alternates between classical and modern language. Therefore its reasonable to say that there are many re-occurring themes throughout Audens poems, but not that there are entire poems which are characteristic. 1 It is notable that Ist September 1939 appeared on many websites after the September 11th attacks in 2001.

Discussing Causes Of Climate Change An Environmental Sciences Essay

Discussing Causes Of Climate Change An Environmental Sciences Essay Climate has a great influence over our lives. All our normal routine actions are according to the climate we are living in. However the climate has been changing from past few decades, which in turn is changing our living patterns and thus, has made this world a more puzzled place to live in. In this essay the causes of climate change would be discussed, which are divided into two categories, either the climate is changing due to natural reasons or is forced to change by the human activities. Naturally, the climate change is said to occur because of various reasons, mainly because of volcanic eruptions, ocean current, the solar variations, the earths orbital change, and by many other natural reasons, which in turn produces various greenhouse gasses and in the end results into global warming. On the other hand, carbon emission done by humans is the greatest factor leading to global warming and then to climate change. Other activities like, chemicals used in agriculture, deforestation and other uses of energy in households also contribute in the greenhouse effect. Climate can be defined as the long term weather conditions for a region, generally determined by 30 or more years of records. On contrast weather can be defined as the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. Moreover, the Green House effect is naturally in which certain atmospheric gases absorbs long wave radiation from the Earths surface which in the end results in heating the earths surface and the atmosphere. Hence global warming can be defined as the increase of Earths average temperature which in then results into climate change. (Glossary: Nasa). The Debate: There is no doubt about the fact that the Earths climate has become warmer over the twentieth century, however, there is still a dispute about whether the temperature increase is due to natural reasons or because of human activities. Two groups of UK scientists have recently investigated both types of effect. Mike Lockwood and colleagues at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) argue that the Suns magnetic field has doubled over the century, and that this natural force of solar system has affected the earths climate (Nature  399:437). On the other hand Simon Tett and colleagues from the UKs Meteorological Office in Reading and RAL argue that while solar forcing may have added to climate change, however, human activities have also been responsible for the temperature changes from many years (Nature  399:569). It has been stated that the Earths average global temperature has increased by 0.6 Kelvin in the past 100 years. Four main processes that can affect the Earths climate hav e been evaluated. Two of these are said to be small aerosol particles from volcanic eruptions and changes in solar luminosity. The other two, sulphate aerosols and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, are due to increasing industrialization, in particular the burning of forests and fossil fuels. Lockwood and colleagues found that the total magnetic flux leaving the Sun has risen by a factor of 1.4 since 1964. Their results could provide support for the theory that changes in the solar wind could contribute to  climate change. The solar wind and the Suns magnetic field are very well linked with each other. According to the theory charged particles in the solar wind would deflect high-energy cosmic rays that would otherwise have ionized the Earths lower atmosphere, leading to the formation of clouds. Since cloud cover determines the amount of solar radiation reflected by the Earth back into space, a more powerful solar wind implies less cloud cover which, in turn, suggests that the Earth would warm up. However, the paper by Tett and colleagues suggests that natural effects alone cannot account for the pattern of temperature change observed over the past 50 years. They used the HadCM2 computer model to predict the Earths global temperature during five overlapping 50-year periods (1906-56, 1916-1966,), and then compared the results with observations. The program models both the oceans and the atmosphere, and also allows for changes in greenhouse emissions, surface albedo (i.e. reflectivity), volcanic aerosols and solar irradiance. They ran the programmers with a number of different solar models, including one that matched the effects highlighted by Lockwood. The results were similar for all cases: it is not possible to distinguish between the contributions of human activity and natural variations to global warming in the first half of the century, but after 1946 increases in the concentration of man-made greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols was the dominan t effect. (News: Physics World, 1999) Climate Change Human Activities the Cause, Mea Culpa! But Consider 1816, the Year Without Summer! The whole world seems to be getting involved with the facts of Global warming and Climate change. Nobel prizes were awarded to the UNs IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and Al Gore several years ago, followed by the Kyoto Protocol Climate Change Conference of 1997, and finally President Obama led leaders of 192 nations in agreement with its principles, promising heavy financial compensations to third world nations. Scientists have calculated that emissions of carbon dioxide by human activities amount to perhaps 30 billion tons per year because of various factors including fossil fuel burning, cement production, gas flaring, industrial operations and breathing etc. They also estimate that volcanic eruptions can on average emit about one-forty-five to two-fifty-five million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. This seems to specify that human activities may release perhaps 100 times the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by volcanoes, thus, this seems to be a realistic base for the universal concern, which is that human activities have a great negative impact on the climate of Earth. However, it seems like that nature itself is trying to make things worse as firstly admitting furor at Copenhagen by world leaders and President Obama in support of Global Warming then along came the coldest winter in recent decades. Then finally when Obamas EPA poised to levy severe pollutant restrictions and harsh financial penalties on American industry, a volcanic eruption in Iceland devastated the air-transport industry by closing down almost all flights over Europe for a week, which led to bankrupting major airlines, with absent bail-outs by governments. The major natural catastrophes: the recent eruption of Icelands Eyjafjallajokull volcano along with many other including Krakatau, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or cyclical changing of atmosphere of ocean, should be enough to warn decision-makers about climate change effects. After experiencing the incident of the Iceland volcano eruption, other than man-kind activities in the reference to global warming and climate change seems warranted. The summer of 1816 is considered to be one of the coldest on record which is studied by many weather scientists. The year is known as the Year without a summer. It is also known as the Poverty Year, due to widespread destruction of crops. Severe climate oddity during the summer destroyed crops in Northern Europe, Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada, and average global temperature decrease was sufficient enough to cause many agricultural failures around the world. The most likely cause of the severe climate change seems therefore, to be the volcanic influences because greatly increased volcanic activity causes immense amounts of ash and dust to be blown and trapped high in the atmosphere, which in turn cause increased reflection of solar radiation (instead of absorption at the Earths surface), resulting in globally decreased te mperatures on Earth. Therefore human activities seem minor and insignificant relative to the power of Nature. (Kolom) How do we know that atmospheric build-up of green house gases is due to human activities? Four lines of evidence prove conclusively that the recent buildup of carbon dioxide take place largely from human activities. The nucleus of carbon atoms in carbon dioxide released by burning coal, oil, and natural gas (fossil fuels) vary in their characteristics from the nucleus of carbon atoms in carbon dioxide emitted under natural conditions. Tens of millions of years ago, coal, oil, and natural gas were formed, and the portion of their nucleus, that was once radioactive, has long ago changed to non- radioactive carbon. However the carbon dioxide released from natural sources on the Earths surface holds a measurable radioactive portion. As carbon dioxide has been emitted through fossil fuel combustion, the radioactive fraction of carbon in the atmosphere has decreased. Forty years ago scientists provided the first direct evidence that burning of fossil fuels was causing a buildup of carbon dioxide and thus reducing radioactive carbon in the atmosphere by measuring the decreasing portion of radioactive carbon-14 captured in tree rings, each year between 1800 and 1950. Moreover, scientists began making accurate measurements of the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in any countries by late 1950s. Their data show convincingly that the levels of carbon dioxide have increased each year worldwide and these increases are dependable with other estimates of the rise of carbon dioxide emissions due to human activity over this period. In 1980, third evidence was added that the ice buried below the surface of the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps contains bubbles of air trapped when the ice originally formed. These samples of fossil air have been retrieved by drilling deep into the ice. Measurements from the youngest and most shallow segments of the ice cores produced carbon dioxide awareness to those that were measured directly in the atmosphere at the time the ice formed. But the older parts of the cores show that carbon dioxide amounts were about 25% lo wer than today for the ten thousand years previous to the onset of industrialization. The final evidence comes from the geographic pattern of carbon dioxide measured in air. Observations show that there is slightly more carbon dioxide in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere. The difference arises because most of the human activities that produce carbon dioxide are in the north and it takes about a year for northern hemispheric emissions to circulate through the atmosphere and reach southern latitudes. (Programme, 1997) Discussion: The debate on climate change is as what really caused the climate to vary with time and which affected us adversely. Some say that climate is changed by natural factors like ocean currents or volcanoes while others deny this fact and try to prove the point that human activities have forced the climate to change. I support the second opinion, human activities indeed made the climate to change and result into global warming. The concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 290ppm in 1880 to 352ppm in 1989 which can be concluded as the 20% increase. This increase is almost certainly a result of human activities (Ruddiman,2003). There has been seen a sufficient increase in the emission of Greenhouse gases due to human activities. For example methane has an estimated rate of emission from human activity on the planet which is 375 million tons per year. For carbon dioxide, there is also an estimated rate of emission from human activity which is 7100 million tons per year. The anthropogenic emissions of these two gases are easier to estimate, because we know approximately how much oil, coal, and natural gas humans produce for consumption around the world each year. We also know approximately how much forest is burned and converted to agriculture each year. According to The state of the environment published in 1991 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, human activities emit about 68 million tones of nitrogen oxides, 99 million tons of sulfur oxides, 177 million tons of carbon monoxide, and 57 million tones of particulates (dust). However, all these numbers are very approximate. On the o ther hand, sulfur oxides have been found to slightly counteract the greenhouse effect caused by other gases. Still, sulfur oxides are very harmful to the environment and are best known for causing acid rain. Carbon monoxide doesnt contribute to the greenhouse effect, but has significant effects on atmospheric chemistry. Dust is generally thought to cool the atmosphere close to Earths surface, but this effect depends on various factors, including the size and color of the dust particles. (Davis, 2004) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific body set up by the UN to look at climate change. It says that human activity is the main cause of the changes seen in climate. Recent reports from the  IPCC have concluded that most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is  very likely  due to the observed increase in  anthropogenic greenhouse gas  concentrations. From new estimates of the combined anthropogenic  forcing  due to greenhouse gases,  aerosols, and  land surface changes, it is  extremely likely  that human activities have exerted a substantial net warming influence on climate since 1750. (Uk governements digital service: DirectGov) The most important factor for the climate change is the speeding up of greenhouse effect by manmade activities, which is usually known as Global Warming. Basically, the Greenhouse effect is naturally caused by the emissions of gases like nitrous oxide, carbon-dioxide, methane, ozone and water vapor.  However, anthropogenic activities like burning the fossil fuels and deforestation makes the greenhouse effect stronger. Which means more heat is trapped and the Earths climate begins to change unnaturally. The fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are burned for various human activities mainly used for transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooling, electricity generation etc. this can be summed up after the industrial revolution, in 18th century, and more of the fossil fuels were being burned frequently. Therefore, manmade gases were being emitted into the atmosphere, mostly in the form of carbon dioxide emissions, from the burning activity. These gases speed up the greenhouse effect, forcing the climate to change. Another factor forced the climate to change and resulted into global warming is the act of deforestation.   Deforestation increases the amount of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere. Also, due to the disappearance of trees, photosynthesis cannot take place which lowers the oxygen level in the atmosphere. Deforestation is rampant today due to the increase in human civilization. The levels of deforestation have increased by about nine percent in recent times. Moreover, the burning of wood also causes it to decay, therefore releasing more carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere, and carbon-dioxide being the main culprit in global warming increases. Another man-made cause of the increase in the Green house effect due to the emission of such gases is the use of any electrical appliances. Even the refrigerator in the house emits gases which contribute to the Greenhouse effect. These gases are known as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and are used in refrigerators, aerosol cans, and some foaming agents in the packaging industry, fire extinguisher chemicals and cleaners used in the electronic industry. Some processes of the cement manufacturing industries also act as a cause towards the Greenhouse effect.   Population growth also is an indirect contributor and one of the causes of the Greenhouse effect. With the increase in population, the needs and wants of the people increase. Therefore, this increases the manufacturing processes as well as the industry processes. This results in the increase of the release of industrial gases which catalyze the green house effect. The increase in population also results in the increase of agricultural processes. Most man-made machines, like the automobile also contribute to the green house effect. In one of the recent articles global warming has been linked with the recent natural disasters. As almost fourteen million people have been affected by the torrential rains in Pakistan,  making it a more serious humanitarian disaster than the South Asian tsunami and recent earthquakes in Kashmir and Haiti combined. The disaster was driven by a supercharged jet stream that has also caused floods in China and a prolonged heat wave in Russia. Which comes after flash floods in France and Eastern Europe killed more than 30 people over the summer. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-president of the body set up by the UN to monitor global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the dramatic weather patterns are consistent with changes in the climate caused by mankind. These are events which reproduce and intensify in a climate disturbed by greenhouse gas pollution, he said, Extreme events are one of the ways in which climatic changes become dramatically visible. Professor Andrew Watson, a climatologist at the University of East Anglia, which was at the centre of last years climate gate scandal, said the extreme events are fairly consistent with the IPCC reports and what 99 per cent of the scientists believe to be happening. Im quite sure that the increased frequency of these kinds of summers over the last few decades is linked to climate change, he said. (Gray) However , authors such as  Lean and Rind (1996)  believe that, although natural factors may be the reason for most temperature increase before the Industrial Revolution, the most likely cause of climate change since about 1850is the growing concentration of greenhouse gases as the net atmospheric temperature increase, or forcing is largely due to human (anthropogenic) activities .Interestingly, particulate emissions from volcanoes produce a net decrease in global temperatures, due to the reflective properties (albedo) of the sulfate aerosol particles formed in the stratosphere. (Bianchi, 2010) Conclusion: The earths climate is dynamic and always changing through a natural cycle but the anthropogenic activities make this cycle speed up unnaturally that create problems in the atmosphere as either the earth gets oddly warmer or the people have to face natural disasters. However if man has created all these problems, he should also try to make things better by finding practical solutions.

Invertebrates In Soil Ecosystem Analysis

Invertebrates In Soil Ecosystem Analysis Invertebrates are the first animal evolved about 600 million years ago from single-celled microorganism, food eating microorganism. They evolved into countless forms and lead to the enormous diversity of invertebrates species that are found today. They are organism without backbone, however they have others way to produce structural support of bodies. As examples, leeches have a hydrostatic skeleton supported by sheets of muscles and internal cavity filled with fluid, while insects have a hard outer shell or exoskeleton. Scientist divided them into about 30 different groups (phyla). The phyla include echinoderms (urchins and stars), coelenterates (jellies and anemones), annelids (segmented worms), mollusks (snails and octopuses), and arthropods (insects, spiders, arachnida such as spiders and crustaceans such as crabs) (Saint Louis Zoo, 2011). There are several kinds of phyla can be referred in Figure 1. Some of them are aquatic animal and terrestrial animal, yet this paper will focu s on diversity of invertebrates in soil ecosystem only. They participate in tropic level and play vital role in nutrient cycling and decomposition of organic matter. They also interact with others organism and provide many services to the ecosystem. A small decrease in an invertebrate biodiversity may affect ecosystem as they contribute to the succession of above ground and ecosystem. Human activities which give negative effects to the soil invertebrate activities must be controlled. In meanwhile, there are also some practices can be implemented to the site/soil to eager their activities. Classification of Invertebrates An experiment was carried out by several groups of Nottingham students to study the diversity of invertebrates using soil palm sample. The table below indicates the result of my group. There are 9 kinds of animal invertebrates that have been found in the soil sample: The Invertebrates Found In Soil Palm Sample Based on the result, all the invertebrates are from phylum of arthropod. The invertebrates are diverse and made up from difference classes and orders. There are 3 kinds of classes which are Insecta, Arachnida and Myriapoda. Class Insecta give the largest percentage (64%), followed by class Myripoda (20%) and the lowest percentage is class Arachnida (16%). None of them comes from the similar order. There are only few organisms were found out. The total number soil invertebrates are 25. This happened because of several unknown factors such as less moisture. The soil sample looks like dry and non-sticky, therefore may proved that the moisture level is low and not really favor the soil invertebrates. However, more experiments should be done to determine the real factors the number of invertebrates are little. Next, the researchers have classified the diversity of invertebrates according to body width. There are microfauna, mesofauna and macrofauna. Microfauna such as nematodes usually live in water film and have width 0.1mm and below; mesofauna such as mites and springtails live in air spaces and have body width between 0.1mm to 2mm, while macrofauna such as earwigs, centipedes, and millipedes have width from 2mm to 60mm and above. Macrofauna are large enough and have ability create space by burrowing. (http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu, 2011). They exist at any stages of soil which contain appropriate space and nutrients such as in litter, on/between the surface of soil aggregates, on humus and around roots. Invertebrates that graze on bacteria such as mites always concentrate around roots while the litter is always inhibited by collembola and millipedes that break up the litter into smaller chunks (Ingham, 2011). The types of invertebrates are similar in all ground cover types, but the number s of invertebrates differs significantly. Bare soil show the lowest number of invertebrates due to it is easily exposed to the extreme temperature, drain drop and soil erosion (Kyle and Susan, 2007). Soil invertebrates inhabit a substrate that is more resistant to drought than most terrestrial habitat. Some of them are capable adapted to acidic, however many more organisms thrive in a neutral habitat causing an increase in diversity as pH approaches neutral (Rudd, 2009). Soil invertebrates present at several trophic levels of the soil food web as primary, secondary or tertiary consumers. They eat almost everything either live or death organism. They exist in multitude of ways in gaining nutrient. They may present as herbivores, carnivores, scavengers and parasites. As examples, herbivores like caterpillar and nematodes are feeds on plants. Nevertheless, nematodes are complex organisms which appear at several stages of tropic level. Some nematodes feed on the plants and algae (primary consumers); others are grazers that feed on bacteria and fungi (secondary consumers); and some feed on other nematodes (tertiary consumers) (Ingham, 2011). Next, carnivore can be represented by centipedes which feed earthworms by paralyzing their prey with poisoned fang and spider which traps their prey with web. The example of scavengers is millipedes, louse and earwigs which decompose plant matter such as leaf little and dead roots (Dr Alderson, 2011). Most of inverteb rates in soil are parasites. Ticks, tapeworms, leeches, mites and roundworms are just a few examples of the parasites. Some parasites live on the external surfaces of the hosts while the others live in the digestive tract or tissues of their hosts (Klappenbach, 2011). Next, soil invertebrates develop multiple interactions at large scale and contribute to the production of soil ecosystem services in many ways (Figure 3). The Advantages of Invertebrates Interact with Ecosystem Firstly, soil invertebrates participate in nutrient cycling as it interact with surface vegetation which supplies them the organic maters or compounds. Scavengers like millipedes and mites will return those elements into a broken down form. These broken forms will be recycling back into the environment, promoting humification and nourishing the plant with the nutrients like nitrogen and carbon. Soil invertebrates are responsible for the mineralization and immobilization of phosphorus and sulphur into the plants. They attribute regulation of leaching nutrients losses and prevent leakage towards low-lying aquifers, streams and oceans (Lavellea et.al, 2006). Soil invertebrates act as buffering system that allows an efficient local recycling of nutrients Next, invertebrates like ants, termites, earthworms help in formation of soil. They consume small aggregates of mineral particles and organic matter and then generate larger fecal pellets. These fecal pellets are coated with compounds from the gut and become part of soil structure. Charles Darwin has stated that soil invertebrates, earthworm can carry large quantity of soil from the lower strata to the surface and organic matter into deeper soil layers. This organism can form over the top 15 cm of soil within 10-20 years. It helps to hold the soil particle together and maintain it structures too (Clive, 2011). Invertebrates interact with plants as they support primary production such as genes and protection against pests and diseases for plant health and response to stress. The expert document that the expression in the leaves of three stress-responsive genes (coding for lipoxygenase, phospholipase D and cysteine protease) due to the existence of belowground invertebrate activities. However, they still cannot identity the mechanism involved which affects parasitic nematodes activity and arise beneficial in earthworms. Next, many experiments have shown significant enhancement of plant production in the presence of soil invertebrates such as collembolan, earthworms and combinations of organism termites and ants. Invertebrates capable improve tolerance to stressors or pest such as parasitic nematodes which feed on plant roots. This has been proved since 82% infested plant decrease within the presence of earthworms. Although earthworms do not affect the population size of nematodes, it causes the root biomass not being attacked by such parasite (Manuel et al, 2005). Besides, the soil invertebrates interact with carbon compound in climate regulation and also with soil for flood and erosion control. The soil invertebrates accumulate over long period of time and form humification. This process results the carbon compounds are sequestered into compact and consequently the carbons can be avoided from rapidly released into atmosphere in the form green house gases. Humification also transforms carbon compounds more resistance to further decomposition and thus slower green house gas released from soil (Lavellea et.al, 2006). Next, flood and erosion control can be regulated by building and maintenance of stable porosity through bioturbation and burrowing. Earthworms burrow, enhance soil aeration and form tunnel. This tunnel can absorb water at a rate 4 to 10 times greater than fields lacking worm (NCAT, 2004). Lastly, soil invertebrates do interaction with ecosystem as they are also responsible in production of water supply. Their participation may be in small-scale but are significant. Invertebrates such as millipedes in macrofauna create burrows and structural porosity in soils and thus generate water infiltrations. The variety of pore shapes and size may permit soils to store water within wide range, but the scientist not discovered yet about the amount of water infiltrated and stored (Lavellea et.al, 2006). Invertebrates are necessary to reduce water runoff, recharge groundwater and store large amount of water for dry spells. Soil invertebrates serve many benefits to plant, animal, and nature. Their present should not be disturbed by human activities because it may influence the presence and activity of organism. Unfortunately, the burgeoning human populations have destroyed the soil physico-chemical environment and the soils species through activities such as: inputs of chemicals, disposal of waste products in soils and physical modification or removal of soil by cultivation and erosion (Diana, 1994). Those activities may eliminate any invertebrates present on the topsoil and degrade their microenvironment. In addition, the metabolism of microorganisms and arthropods will be altered and this may destroy some layers of the primary food chain too. This happens when harmful chemicals have been passed up to the food chain and ultimately causes mortality or even extinction in the invertebrates. There are several site/soil management can be practiced to help improving invertebrates number and activities such as enhance nutrient and pest. Organic matter and nutrients in acceptable range can provide more foods to the invertebrates, though they may poison the organism in excess. This is similar to pest which is helpful for invertebrates to resist to pesticide in acceptable range only. Next, people must avoid excess tillage because it can bring advantages or conversely. Some farmers practice tillage because it can control pests, however it also affects decomposition rate of soil invertebrate when excess. The worst is it can reduce organic matter level to below 1% and renders them biologically dead. People also should keep the soil covered to avoid soil erosion that influence the existence of invertebrates at the topsoil especially. It can be done by covered it with plant residue or planting crops. Lastly, diversity cropping is beneficial because it also will increase the diversi ty of invertebrates. This happen due to differ plant have differ culture practice and thus leads to decrease of disease pressure. All the practices support the invertebrates to survive greater and functions more effectively (USDA, 2011). In conclusion, there are vast diversity of invertebrates can be found in earth including soil invertebrates. Their size are small which is may be less than 1mm but their interaction with nature bring much benefits to ecosystem. Their existence should not be bothered and people must conserve these species to avoid extinction via soil conservation. Soil conservation can promote better the viability and survivor of soil organisms including soil invertebrates. Loss of invertebrates diversity may affects soil processes and unstable ecosystem too as they are responsible in nutrient cycling, water supply and many more. People can manage the site/soil to improve the population of invertebrates by providing nutrients, pest and others to enhance invertebrates activities.

John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- essays papers

John Miltons Paradise Lost John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a religious work, and is in many ways an autobiography of Milton’s own life. John Milton was raised catholic and converted to Protestantism. Later in life he became a Calvinist. His strong Calvinists beliefs can be seen throughout Paradise Lost. It was Milton’s desire to be a great poet, but he did not believe that was his purpose in life. He believed that he had been put here to serve God, and that any thing that he wrote should be in one way or another related to that purpose. In this way Milton felt that in writing Paradise Lost not only was he writing the epic poem he had always wanted to, but also fulfilling his godly purpose here on earth. At the time that Milton was writing Paradise Lost he was a prisoner in his home and to his blindness. He had been involved in the rebellion with Cromwell when the King had been executed and the monarchy had been run out of England. When Cromwell died and the King returned to power he was forced to go into hiding and no longer had any rights of an English man. If he had come out of hiding he most likely would have been executed for treason. He had also lost his sight completely and was being taken care of by his daughters. The subject of Paradise Lost is man’s disobedience and how disobedience leads to the loss of happiness. He is dealing not only with the disobedience of Adam, Eve, and Satin, but also with his own disobedience. Different autobiographical issues are dealt with through Adam and Satin. Adam seems to represent his sins against God, which led to his blindness, and Satin could represent his disobedience to the King. The first book deals with the war in heaven and the devils being sent out into ... ...ventually die for their sins. Being kicked out of the garden also has some autobiographical significance in the life of Milton. He loved gardens and both of his punishments, blindness and being imprisoned in his home made it impossible for him to enjoy them. In the last book Michael shows Adam what is to come for the human race. This gave Adam some hope for the future and makes it easier for him to carry on after falling from God. Adam sees that much good will come from his sin in the end. Bibliography: Works Cited Masson, David. Afterword â€Å"A Brief Life of Milton† Paradise Lost. By John Milton. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. Wagenknecht, Edward. The Personality of Milton. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970. John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- essays papers John Miltons Paradise Lost John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a religious work, and is in many ways an autobiography of Milton’s own life. John Milton was raised catholic and converted to Protestantism. Later in life he became a Calvinist. His strong Calvinists beliefs can be seen throughout Paradise Lost. It was Milton’s desire to be a great poet, but he did not believe that was his purpose in life. He believed that he had been put here to serve God, and that any thing that he wrote should be in one way or another related to that purpose. In this way Milton felt that in writing Paradise Lost not only was he writing the epic poem he had always wanted to, but also fulfilling his godly purpose here on earth. At the time that Milton was writing Paradise Lost he was a prisoner in his home and to his blindness. He had been involved in the rebellion with Cromwell when the King had been executed and the monarchy had been run out of England. When Cromwell died and the King returned to power he was forced to go into hiding and no longer had any rights of an English man. If he had come out of hiding he most likely would have been executed for treason. He had also lost his sight completely and was being taken care of by his daughters. The subject of Paradise Lost is man’s disobedience and how disobedience leads to the loss of happiness. He is dealing not only with the disobedience of Adam, Eve, and Satin, but also with his own disobedience. Different autobiographical issues are dealt with through Adam and Satin. Adam seems to represent his sins against God, which led to his blindness, and Satin could represent his disobedience to the King. The first book deals with the war in heaven and the devils being sent out into ... ...ventually die for their sins. Being kicked out of the garden also has some autobiographical significance in the life of Milton. He loved gardens and both of his punishments, blindness and being imprisoned in his home made it impossible for him to enjoy them. In the last book Michael shows Adam what is to come for the human race. This gave Adam some hope for the future and makes it easier for him to carry on after falling from God. Adam sees that much good will come from his sin in the end. Bibliography: Works Cited Masson, David. Afterword â€Å"A Brief Life of Milton† Paradise Lost. By John Milton. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. Wagenknecht, Edward. The Personality of Milton. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970.

Solar Cookers :: Essays Papers

Solar Cookers Jewish families celebrate Passover to commemorate the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. When the Pharaoh Ramses II freed the Israelites, they fled so quickly that there wasn't time to bake their breads. Instead the Israelites packed the raw dough, which they quickly baked in the hot sun into hard crackers called Matzohs as they fled through the desert. The exodus of the Israelites took place over 3000 years ago, but the Israelites were not the first to harness solar power for cooking, neither were they the last. Solar cooking has had a long rich history and has important implication for the future. Solar cooking is an important link in understanding the sun’s power, is a sink of innovation and technology, is widely applicable around the world, has social, economic and ecological benefits, and is the answer to some of the world’s biggest natural resource shortages. Although, solar cooking is an ind ustry that has yet to be revolutionized into an efficient home appliance, therefore, there are many avenues for innovation and technological advancement to be explored. Horace de Saussure coincidently created the first solar box cooker, although, because cooking food was not his objective he failed to revolutionize the solar cooking as an efficient home appliance. Horace de Saussure, â€Å"set out to determine how effectively glass heat traps could collect the energy of the sun.† Horace de Saussure placed five consecutively smaller open bottomed glass boxes within each other on a black table, in which he placed a piece of fruit. When this miniature five walled green house was exposed to the sun, each consecutive glass chamber trapped warm air and thermal radiation, which are by products of light energy being turned into heat. Consequently the innermost glass box became the hottest, a recorded 189.5 degrees Fahrenheit and Horace de Saussure successfully cooked fruit within this box. Cooking was only an experiment used by Horace de Saussure to understand his greater goal, which was how effectively glass heat traps could collect the energy o f the sun. Although, Horace de Saussure realized the practical application of his heat trap. Horace de Saussure stated, â€Å"someday some usefulness might be drawn from this device . . . [for it] is actually quite small, inexpensive, [and] easy to make.† Horace de Saussure was correct in stating that solar cooking is useful, but contrary to his advice the solar cooker failed to be revolutionized into an efficient home appliance.

Free My Antonia Essays: The Character of Antonia Shimerda :: My Antonia Essays

The Character of Antonia Shimerda in My Antonia Antonia Shimerda spends her whole life fighting, yet she is not known to be belligerent. She is constantly being battered, but still has no visible scars. Antonia is a girl who suffers all through her life, and somehow manages to keep an optimistic outlook. She is one of those rare people who gain character, rather than resentment, by enduring hardship. Throughout the book, MY ANTONIA, the strength and perseverance of this girl definitely portray her as "battered but not diminished." The symbol of freedom, courage and hardship, the country seems to invite all to come and settle, but not without a struggle. Antonia, along with her family, is among the many that takes on this formidable task. A girl with a great heart, she comes to Nebraska virtually helpless, She arrives in an unfamiliar country with the knowledge to speak only a few words in the native language, and her family with no knowledge at all. Living in a small hut made of dirt and wood, the Shimerda family is forced to make due with what it has; which is not much. This presents a tremendous strain on them. In contrast to Antonia's remarkable perseverance, misery plagues and inevitable overcomes her father. He eventually gives in to his despair, leaving his family to fend for themselves. There is a great sense of unease and apprehension that comes along with the suicide, that can be almost unbearable to a little girl. As any child, the loss of a parent is probably the most substantial event in his/her li fe and equally difficult to get over. Although Antonia never forgets her father, she uses her strength to move on. No matter how she tries, Antonia cannot escape the prejudices that surround the town. Working as a hired girl, a job that demands the skill of a housekeeper and a nanny, Antonia becomes an outcast in the city. Consequently, she is forced to associate with only other working girls like herself. Yet it is not just her job that earns her the prejudice, it is the color of her skin. Working in the fields of the country, Antonia had gained a remarkable tan. The latter, although accepted in the country, brands her a peasant in the town. No refined lady would ever subject herself to the brutal country sun.

Distinctively Visual †The Drover’s Wife & The African Beggar Essay

The poem ‘The African Beggar’ by Raymond Tong explores the despondency of humanity’s existence and our complete helplessness when faced with the adversity of ourselves and others through the distinctively visual description of an African beggar and his experience as an outcast to society. In the first stanza of the poem, the heterodiegetic narrator (considered to be Tong), introduces the beggar as a repulsive outcast. The description of the persona in the first line of the poem â€Å"sprawled in the dust†¦Ã¢â‚¬  immediately provokes an image of the beggar as something rather than someone, which has been alienated by society. This is further supported when the narrator describes the beggar as a â€Å"target for small children, flies,  and dogs† as it says that the character is an object of attack, something that occupies an existence that is considered lower than that of humans and other creatures. The metaphoric language used, â€Å"a heap of verm inous rags and matted hair†, persuades the audience to conjure an image of filth and poor physical hygiene, although this is followed by a juxtaposed metaphor, â€Å"he watches with cunning reptile eyes†, which challenges the previous image and suggests that the persona is subtle and scheming, like a snake. Both of these images are also contrasted by the use of pronoun, reminding the reader that this character is human despite his description suggesting otherwise. In the Second stanza of the poem, although the author’s image of the beggar as a filthy outcast is continued, the theme of humanity’s neglect and inadequacy is introduced to the audience. The metaphor use in the first line â€Å"he shows his yellow stumps of teeth† puts forward an image of physical ugliness and extreme lack of hygiene while the use of pronoun to refer to the beggar again reminds the audience that he is a human. The simile â€Å"With hands like claws about his begging bowl† compares the hands of humanity to that of a skeleton (death), clinging to his one source of survival, his begging bowl. The tone of the poem changes dramatically in the third stanza when contrasted with the first. The poet allows the reader to empathise with the beggar. This is done through different language techniques such as the tone used in the first line; â€Å"lying all alone† which proposes that the persona is not aware of others anymore as Tong recognises the beggar’s suffering. In the phrase â€Å"shadow of a crumbling wall†, the word â€Å"shadow† suggests that the persona is in darkness, suffering from loneliness, while â€Å"crumbling wall† represents the absence of a home for the man. The use of personification in the line â€Å"Clutching the pitiless red earth in vain† displays the character’s desperation. In the final line of the poem, the simile â€Å"whimpering like a stricken animal† exhibits the beggar’s total and complete defeat and creates an image of a defenceless man at the mercy of others. The poem ‘The African Beggar’ by Raymond Tong relates to the short story ‘The Drover’s Wife’, created by Henry Lawson, as both texts use distinctively visual language to surround the reader in a world of images that represent the story being told, and allow and encourage the audience to establish a relationship with the main persons of the text resulting in sympathising and understanding the characters. SHORT FILM TEXT ANALYSIS ‘My Constellation’ Director: Toby Morris The short film ‘My Constellation’, was directed by Toby Morris and won a place as a finalist in Tropfest 2014. The film follows a boy who is experiencing a deep loss and as a product embarks on an unusual adventure, leaving a trail of light bulbs wherever he goes. This text is distinctly visual solely through its cinematography due to the absence of dialogue, although sound contributes to the setting of atmosphere and direction in the short film. Morris vividly illustrates the image of the young boy’s lonely life and his experience of longing for someone that play an important role in his life. He does this through purposefully chosen sound and the careful thought of each mise en scene to allow the responders to either empathise or identify with the boy. The film is opened with a wide open shot of a starry night sky, followed by a close up shot of the protagonist, a small boy, who is laying upside down staring at the sky, quite obviously in deep thought. We see his mother leave the house and disappear into an unknown car. The darkness in the boy’s room as well as his lack of company and absence of his mother, as we had just seen, conveys to the responders that he is all alone, maybe isolated and there is a melancholic sense created through the featuring music as well as the protagonist’s expression and languid body language. Morris has then directed the camera to a medium shot, slowly panning to the left as the protagonist enters back into his bedroom shows an image of a close up shot of the light shining on a photo of a man who looks like a father figure, symbolizing the fact that this man is like a star, a bright part of his life, illuminating the darkness. This effect points out to the viewer of the protagonist’s experience of longing someone very important. Morris also creates a vivid image of the father’s importance for the protagonist, to build up the purpose of the film. He portrays the protagonist riding a bicycle with a string of shining light bulbs in the dead of night. The medium shot of him riding the bicycle panning upwards  symbolizes the journey that the protagonist goes through and the motif of light bulbs illuminating through the darkness symbolizes the stars in the night sky. This effect indicates to the viewer that the protagonist is alluding to his father being in space, going on a journey through the stars, emphasizing the idea that idolizes his father and wants to follow in his footsteps. In both â€Å"The Drover’s Wife† and â€Å"The Loaded Dog†, Lawson has used a variety of techniques to clearly depict vivid images of the experiences the characters have endured with each other and with the Australian outback. Similarly, in â€Å"My Constellation†, Morris has also vividly represented the journey and ambition the protagonist goes through, and specifically relates the expression of isolation and hardship that the woman faces in the absence of her husband. This text was chosen by me because I feel as though I can personally empathise and identify with the main character of the short film. The concept of feeling a little lonely and isolated when a significant figure or person is absent is universal and is definitely applicable to me personally as I have experienced this before. GREAT SOUTHERN LAND Standing at the limit of an endless ocean Stranded like a runaway, lost at sea City on a rainy day down in the harbour Watching as the grey clouds shadow the bay Looking everywhere ’cause I had to find you This is not the way that I remember it here Anyone will tell you it’s a prisoner island Hidden in the summer for a million years Great Southern Land, burned you black So you look into the land and it will tell you a story Story ’bout a journey ended long ago If you listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains Maybe you can hear them talking like I do â€Å"They’re gonna betray, they’re gonna forget you Are you gonna let them take you over this way† Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land You walk alone like a primitive man And they make it work with sticks and bones See their hungry eyes, it’s a hungry home I hear the sound of the stranger’s voices I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land They burned you black, black against the ground Great Southern Land, in the sleeping sun You walk alone with the ghost of time They burned you black, black against the ground And they make it work with rocks and sand I hear the sound of the stranger’s voices I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land You walk alone, like a primitive man You walk alone with the ghost of time And they burned you black Yeah, they burned you black Great Southern Land x 4 TEXT ANALYSIS ‘Great Southern Land’ Singers: Iceland The song ‘Great Southern Land’ by Iceland was written at the beginning of significant decade in relation to Indigenous affairs and the injustices done by the white settlers. Although there is ambivalence towards the land and the position of the indigenous and non-indigenous people are not mentioned, there is heavy use distinctively visual, sound, cinematography and metaphoric language in the text to convey the song’s purpose. The song opens on a strange, almost spooky, note which is held for a long duration; this immediately creates a mood of suspense and is some sort of vocal representation of the Australian land. The use of metaphor and simile in the  first two lines â€Å"Standing at the limit of an endless ocean, Stranded like a runaway lost at sea† create a vision of the first white inhabitants of Australia looking causelessly over the Australian land, and highlights the segregation of the continent from white civilisation. This idea of isolation and image of a never ending desert land is supported by the lead singer Iva Davies literally ‘walking alone’ on what looks like a desolate rocky hill. The specific camera angles used throughout the music video convey different images and moods, for example the high angled shots of the singer while walking down the rocky hill suggests that the harsh environment he is surrounded by is somewhat overwhelming, and soundly conveys the feelings that the first white settlers would have experienced. However, the low angles of the singer while walking and singing create an image of dominance over the land. This conjures an image in the responder’s mind of the white settlers ‘dominating’ the land in the form of deeply disturbing Aborigine culture/ land and oppressing the Indigenous people to extremes. The lyrics â€Å"I hear the strangers’ voices† and the personification in â€Å"I see their hungry eyes† really persuades the individual’s mind to envision the confused and frightened Aborigine people as well the white inhabitants of the land lusting after a land that does not rightfully belong to them, and allows the audience to empathise with their situation. The lyrics â€Å"million years† and â€Å"long ago† combined with the fading images of daylight to sunset encourages the audience to reflect on past injustices that have eventually lead to the current (at the time) Aboriginal movements. Then, as the remaining daylight fades from the sky, and the colour shifts from orange to blue, and the final repetition of the lyrics â€Å"Great Southern Land† is sung by Davies, the responders of accompanied by a sense of loss and a vision of the Indigenous people of Australia the suffering caused by the white settlers’ actions. This text relates to Henry Lawson’s ‘The Drover’s Wife’ through the use of several language techniques and the use of visual or verbal symbolism to express the isolation of its characters. This text was chosen by me for its nature. I like its metaphoric meaning and reference to the damaging of the Aboriginal civilisation by the white settlers. Aboriginal spirituality and the hardships they faced is something I’ve studied previously and have a thorough understanding of.